Brendan's Adventures

I was working on my travel guides for Peru the other day and while going through my photos I realized that I had a lot of really cool images that just need to edited a little bit.  On of my favourite photos I came across was this image of a group I was with at [...]

The second largest city in Peru, Arequipa, may actually be the most photogenic.  Sure, Cusco is  full of images waiting to be had.  It is full of old building and colourfully dressed people willing to pose for a couple pictures in exchange for a couple dollars.  However, there is so much more in terms of variety in [...]

I remember the first time I entered into the plaza de Armas in Cusco, Peru.  I was riding a taxi from the bus terminal and I asked the driver if he would pass through the plaza on the way.  As the car entered into the square I felt as though I was stepping back in [...]

Sometimes I go through my old photos and realize that I had a great story that I never wrote about.  As I was flipping through my pictures of a 3 day hike I did in Peru’s Colca Canyon, I remembered a great one.  I hiked up and down the world’s second deepest canyon 3 times [...]

Punta Sal, Peru - Nothing Beat a Beach Day —————————————————– One could feel guilty, I suppose, spending three days on the beach, relaxing, drinking dollar-fifty beers, and swimming around in modestly warm water. One could feel guilty, but there are far too few people around here for anyone to notice your guilt. So just relax and [...]

Daily Travel Photo: Get your own! I love chocolate pudding.  But I’m fairly sure that I don’t love chocolate pudding as much as this kid did.  I was donated an extra bowl via one of the few people in the world that don’t like pudding, so I decided to pass it on to this you [...]

Trekking the Colca Canyon – Walk Until the Rock Becomes Purple She was wearing a loosely fit dress speckled in colours which reaching down to her toes.  Over her shoulder was swung a perfectly knit red blanket which she used as a backpack.  Her dark skin was obviously aged and her palms told stories of long days [...]

I stood in the plaza and looked up in awe at the beautiful Arequipa Cathedral towers. And although my intent was always to shoot the plaza in Arequipa, I wasn’t sure what or where. However, as I watched the bright blue sky behind the cathedral begin to tint a blue and purple colour I knew [...]

Lima’s Top Attraction: Parque de las Aguas I’m not one to knock a city, or any destination for that matter. I believe that every place has its own charm and character. It’s just that some places you have to dig a little deeper to find these attractions; whereas the vibrancy of other cities just jumps [...]

The Lares Trek to Machu Picchu: A photo essay Written and Photographed by Brendan van Son I’ve been to Machu Picchu on three separate occasions (don’t hate the player, hate the game), and each time I’ve visited the place I have arrived by a different means of arrival.  I rode the train once, hiked the classic Inca [...]

Paragliding the Coast of Lima I love the view from well above the ground. I always take the window seat on planes because I really could stare out of those little oval windows and down on the world below for hours on end. Some of the most amazing sights are seen from well above. Unfortunately, [...]

Photo of the Week: Arequipa at Night         Arequipa has one of the nicest downtown plaza’s in all of South America.  And let me tell you that there’s a lot of competition out there: Lima, Cusco, Quito, Buenos Aires, etc.  Actually, according to some poll numbers, Arequipa’s plaza is rated second in [...]

Foto Friday: The Santa Catolina Monastery The city of Arequipa, Peru sits at the base of three very large snow-capped volcanoes. These volcanoes very much define the city, not only for the amazing backdrop that they provide, but also for the material they once produced. Arequipa is known as the “White City” because of a [...]

Photo of the Week: Bulls Fighting In Arequipa, Peru one of the more interesting varieties of Bull Fighting takes place.  Here, rather than people fighting bulls, the bulls fight each other.  Land owners breed and train these very large bulls from birth for this very event and wager huge amounts of money between them on [...]